Singularity
by Achilleos
Summary: Most of the time, numbers decide things. On rare occasions, numbers mean nothing. Sometimes, all it takes is one person with one question to change a world.
1. First Meetings

**Singularity**

Most of the time, numbers decide things. On rare occasions, numbers mean nothing. Sometimes, all it takes is one person with one question to change a world.

Disclaimer: Evangelion and all characters are owned and property of Gainax. I seek no profit from this endeavor. Yep, strictly for fun.

(Shortly after the Ninth Angel's Attack)

* * *

Shinji Ikari fazed in and out of consciousness as he sat in his desk, ignoring the teacher's dronings altogether. He had simply grown tired of the lecture, though he would never actually admit to it. Looking to his left, there was Rei Ayanami, designated First Child, staring out the window as was customary. He could not really accurately describe his feelings towards the enigmatic child. With blue hair and red eyes, she certainly stood out.

Turning to his right, he peered at his other fellow pilot. Asuka Langely Sorhyu, designated Second Child. He tried to do it without being noticed, knowing her reaction if he was caught. She was loud, obnoxious, and terribly full of herself. He sometimes laughed at himself at how much she garnered his attention. He couldn't help it, he was infused with her. He had no chance, and though it saddened him, it made his life easier and a little less complicated.

Soon, Shinji's duel with tedium was cut short and the bell sounded, ending the school day.

"Class dismissed, make sure you study for the upcoming test."

The cheers from the school day being over were quickly drowned out from groans and moans from the classroom.

"Man, this sucks, I haven't even paid attention to our teacher. And now, all of a sudden, we have a test! This sucks."

Touji Suzuhara's rant about the injustices of the education system were cut short by a loud rebuttal, coming from the Second Child.

"You idiot, you said that already."

"Hey, lay off me, you demon."

Shinji Ikari tuned them out shortly after Kensuke joined the fray and decided to leave before they got him involved. As he bent down to pick up his books, someone shoved into him, forcing his books to the ground. Shinji rubbed his head and he peered upwards, now noticing the assailiant. It was Kyuuchi Taguchi, another student in his class. He hadn't shared one word with him since his arrival in Tokyo-3. He was tall and langly, with shaggy brown hair that had been highlighted blonde on the top. Even if he hadn't talked to him, he had heard things. He was supposed to be weathly, his father owning a large food company. There were some more stories about his apparent disregard for the feelings of young women.

"Oh, I'm sor-ry, Kyuuchi."

Kyuuchi looked down at him quizically and raised one eyebrow. This inspection made Shinji blush and go back to gathering his books. He had gathered them all up except one, which was apparently missing. Looking back up, he noticed it was in Kyuuchi's hands.

"What are you sorry for? I was busy checking out some girl to notice you, my bad. Here's your book."

This incident had also caught the attention of Asuka, who even though her pride condemned Shinji Ikari to worthlessness, she still had to help out her fellow pilots. She quickly stomped towards Kyuuchi, her argument with Touji and Kensuke apparently forgotten.

"Hey, baka, don't you need to apologize to him? You have no respect for you saviors!"

Kyuuchi simply shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the classroom, looking back for one last look. Whether at Shinji or at Asuka's behind, no one knew. And now, the two pilots were left alone in the classroom.

"Shinji, you're such a wimp. I mean, you can let me walk all over you, but only me."

"Sorry, Asuka," Shinji apologized and he could virtually feel the anger radiating off the girl.

"Stop apologizing and just change it," Asuka yelled, seemingly disgusted with the boy's behavior. "Now, come on and walk me home, you've got to cook tonight."

Dinner at the Ikari/Katsuragi/Sorhyu residence was always an adventure. Most of those adventures involved two women teasing one man until his cheeks just began blushing perpetually. But today, Asuka had something to say to Misato, which was undoubtetly a complaint.

"Misato, a boy today in class practically ran over Shinji. And you know what he did? Nothing! What if that happens in an Angel battle? He's unfit for combat."

Now Misato was an intelligent, if unresponsible woman, and could sense the exaggeration in the redhead's voice.

"Oh, really? Is that how it happened, Shinji," Misato inquired, slightly concerned about bullies. Shinji was a sensitive boy and that could lead to trouble with some people. He just didn't know how to act in society sometimes. She didn't blame him, however, it wasn't his choice.

"No! I mean, it was an accident, he said so."

Asuka had to interject, "How do you know? He could have been covering for himself."

Misato had to agree, such a thing was plausible.

"She's right, Shinji. How do you know?"

Shinji struggled to comply for a few seconds, until he finally gathered the words. He didn't know how to word this without citing the wrath of Asuka.

"Uhm, uh, because he said he was, uh," Shinji's face began to redden, "looking at a girl when he, uhm, ran into me."

Misato ruefully shook her head, knowing what puberty was like for poor girl-crazed boys. Asuka, on the other hand, saw it differently.

"I knew all Japanese boys were perverts."

Shinji decided not to defend his gender from Asuka's attacks and returned to his food. Before he could dig in, Misato interjected one more time.

"He sounds like someone that would do you good to be friends with, you should talk to him."

Asuka rolled her eyes, "Oh, that's good, have him form the coalition of perverts, to prey on young women like me."

Asuka continued this excercise in melodrama for quite a while and dinner passed on and the three went to their respective bedrooms. Shinji, howevered, pondered Misato's request before sleeping. She did have a point, Kyuuchi seemed cool enough and he could count his true friends on one hand.

"Maybe I should."

- End. -

There you go, my first chapter of my first story. I hope you like the beginning. I apologize for the short chapter. The next chapter will be much longer, I promise. I'll write it as soon as possible. This story was not pre-read.


	2. First Questions

Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate it. I hope to get more very, very soon. By the way, I write very short notes.

+ Singularity +

As soon as the bell rang signifying the end of class, Shinji decided it was time to fulfill his duty, to attempt something he had never done. Something daring and dangerous, something he could be remembered for. He was going to do something wholly unknown to him, actively go out and befriend someone. As he looked around the class, he saw Kyuuchi siting on a desk, talking to a girl. Kyuuchi seemed puzzled while the girl seemed downright angry. As he walked closer, he began to hear their covnersation.

"I can't believe you, Kyuuchi. Not only do you leave me out to dry on our date. I catch you with another girl!"

Kyuuchi seemed unaffected by her yelling and attempted to get her to calm down. Looking down at her, he smiled lazily and wrapped his arms around her.

"Listen, uhm, Yuki, it's all my fault, I agree. It's just that, I felt such strong emotions for you that I couldn't help myself. I got scared."

With this, he gave the girl his best puppy-dog look and could practically feel her resolve crumbling down. As he leaned in to seal the deal, he noticed Shinji staring in awe at him. Dropping the girl a wink, he walked towards Shinji and asked the paradox-induxing question.

"What's up, Ikari," Kyuuchi asked, his demeanor changed to slight apprehension, "mad about what happened yesterday? I seriously didn't mean to, you know?"

Shinji had to blink in rapid succession to see that this was Kyuuchi, stumbling over an apology while a minute ago he had swept a girl off her feet. Which one was the real Kyuuchi, he wondered? Focusing in on his objective, he took a gulp and gathered what little courage he had.

"Hey Taguchi, uhm, I was wondering, if you wanted to," Shinji took a relaxing breath, "to hang out someplace?"

Kyuuchi looked suprised at first, then a slow smile crept up on his face.

"Wow, you sure did take that serious enough. Tone it down before people start thinking you're coming onto me."

Shinji blushed at the joke tried to defend himself, "No, no, I'm sorry, I me-"

"Calm down, Ikari, I was just pulling your leg. Yeah, I'll hang with you, it'll increase my standing with the ladies if they see me with you. Maybe I'll even learn about that firecracker you live with."

Kyuuchi had fond memories of his first attempted come on to Asuka. The loud rebuttal, the fierce kick and the following pain left him even more determined. Persistence is not always a virtue, they say. He did not miss the small look of indignation on Shinji's face, however.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Shinji, pilot of, uh, whatever that thing's called. I think I got an idea, we'll go on the prowl for females at the mall, ok?" Kyuuchi asked, deciding to introduce himself to Shinji by showing what he was best at. After Shinji asked them, getting them to comply was easy. It was settled then, to go to mall right after school. There was only one thing left to do, to tell Asuka about Shinji's plans.

Shinji and Kyuuchi both walked up to Asuka and Hikari, though Kyuuchi was just back-up. He still wanted to check out the Second Child, without being noticed, mind you.

The two approaching boys quickly garnered their attention and Asuka looked to the both of them with her characteristic sneer.

"So, the perverts have joined up," Asuka joked, "what do the two of you want?"

Shinji rubbed his hands together and looked down before saying, "We, um, are gonna go to mall, Asuka. I don't know when we'll be back, you'll have to walk yourself home."

Before Asuka could reply, Kyuuchi cut in.

"Yep, that's right, Shinji is coming with me to explore the young beauties of the Tokyo-3 mall." Kyuuchi looked at them and with a slight reproachful look. "Well, that is, unless you two have any complaints?"

Hikari wanted to say something on Touji's behalf, but Asuka quickly cut in before her more timid friend had a chance to reply.

"Fine, see if I care, take the wimp with you to the mall." Crossing her arms, she strode out of the room with Hikari in tow.

Shinji looked back at Kyuuchi with a look of astonishment. He didn't think anyone had to the courage at this school to stand up the to the "red-headed demon."

"Taguchi, are you sure that was smart? I mean, Asuka's not a person you want to anger," Shinji said, looking back at the door, as if expecting Asuka to come back in heavily armed.

"No need to worry, my friend. I'm like a duck in water."

While Shinji didn't get the reference, he did nod his agreement. Before leaving, Kyuuchi had a couple more things to say.

"Call me Kyuuchi, by the way. Well, come on dudes, let's check the mall out."

+ Singularity +

Darkness flooded the vast room, save for a small lamp on a single desk. There sat a man, hidden in the darkness. It left him so well-hidden he was near-invisible. The shuffling of papers on his desk and he viewed them were a eerie sound among the quiet room. A glint of light reflected off his glasses as a small smile graced his features.

"The plan is preceding quite well."

On his desk, were the plans for the Human Instrumentality Project.

+ Singularity +

Shinji shuffled his feet and look downwards, trying not to make eye contact. It was terrifying, it was mind-numbing terrifying. He couldn't get any words out, and the sounds he could force out of his mouth sounded like a crazed man's ramblings.

"Uhm, uh, well, you-you're ver-very, I mean," his incessant stutterings seemingly had bored his listener to the point that listening to the young pilot was deemed unworthy.

Shinji sighed unhappily as he trekked slowly back to the table where his friends sat, all laughing at his attempted pick-up of a young girl. Kyuuchi was laughing the hardest, however. He practically had tears running down his eyes.

"Oh, man, oh, man. I don't see how you do it, Shinji. You even scared off an easy one!"

"I'm sorry, I just not good at this sort of thing." Shinji admitted and flopped down into his seat.

Kyuuchi shook his head, this kid needed serious help. And who better to give it, besides him?

"Shinji, don't fret. I use to be just like you, a while back. I was afraid of everyone and everything. I thought no one liked me and felt that I deserved such treatment. But you know what? I was wrong. Dead wrong. People didn't associate themselves with me because of the way I treated myself. All you need is confidence, Shinji, you got me? You have confidence in yourself, and you can do anything."

"You seem more arrogant, then confident," Shinji replied, "and you don't seem too have that many friends at school."

Kyuuchi looked downright sad for a second until he quickly brightened up and started to laugh.

"That's classic, Shinji. Those losers at school don't like me because they don't know me. People fear things they don't understand. And, by the way, where you get off?"

"Uhm, sorry, I didn't mean to offend," Shinji tried to retract his previous statement, but Kyuuchi just held up a hand.

"That's enough of that, man. You're right, I am arrogant. But I didn't have anyone to help me with my transistion. You do. You have me. I'm gonna help you become the best man you can be."

Shinji seemed somewhat skeptical, "How?"

Kyuuchi, on the otherhand, seemed to become more confident by the minute. 'He's like Asuka,' Shinji thought, 'it's weird.'

"By showing you the tricks of the trade. Now, this will be a hard and ardous task, Mr. Pessimistic. But don't worry, Kyuuchi Taguchi is here to help."

Shinji nodded, feeling some of Kyuuchi's confidence seep into his own. Maybe this would work, you never know.

"Okay, Kyuuchi, where do we begin?"

"With one simple question, then you can go home. Do you want to live life afraid to live life? Ponder that question for me, okay?"

With this statement, Kyuuchi got up and preceded to follow the girl who had turned down Shinji before, trying his hand. Shinji sat on his chair, still, pondering the question even as he got up and began his walk home.

'Live life afraid to live life?' Is that what I've been doing?'

Little did either one of them know, the impact that question would have on the upcoming future.

As Shinji opened the door to his apartment, he looked at the wristwatch, 10:45 PM. He had stayed out later then he thought, thinking about what Kyuuchi said. Before he could sneak into he room, he caught the glance of one of his fellow occupants.

"What took you so long, Third Child," Asuka questioned, "wait, no, don't tell me any of your perverted adventures with that hentai Taguchi."

"Why are you still up, Asuka? Don't we have synch tests tomorrow?"

"For your information, I couldn't sle-"

Shinji took charge, for once in his life, with the conversation.

"Why, worried about me?"

The look on Asuka's face was pricless as a small blush crept on to her face. Then, her face turned completely red with anger and Shinji made a hasty retreat to his room before any of Asuka's obscenities could catch him directly. Soon after resting himself, he quickly fell alseep.

+ Singularity +

In his dream, Shinji walked through a hallway made of pure light, light so bright and beautiful it was as if heaven itself had come down to visit him. Slowly, the path morphed into stairway and he found himself climbing the stairway, his destination unknown. Suddenly, there was a small sound, barely audible. As he quicked his pace, the light around him began to dim, swallowing him into darkness.

For a while, he stopped, until the sound came once again. It was hard to describe. It was as if there were millions of people talking at the same time. It sounded more like a small wave hitting the sandy beach then voices. As he ascended the staircase, some voices became more clearer, to the point where could recognize what they were saying.

"This doesn't make sense."

"I'll have to do it again."

"Not another failure."

The voices seemed to be directed at him, coming at him from all directions. Behind him, he felt a prescence. He quickened his steps, until he began to run up the stairs, seeing no end in sight. He felt the prescence close in on all. It was death, he knew it. Why this was happening, where he was at, he did not know. But what was chasing him, he knew, it was death.

"It's over."

"I should just give up."

Shinji felt his body tiring, his mind began to see things, shadows jumped from the darkness at him, clawing and tearing. Suddenly, there was a light. Not a white light of hope, but a red one. As he neared the light, he felt as if his body was changing, morphing somehow into something he could not describe.

"You're killing yourself! Don't you see?"

The red light grew and enveloped him at the same moment he felt death grab him, he was safe, safe for now. But where was he? All around him was red, the crimson color of blood. Looking up, he saw a lone figure, his black outline making him nearly impossible to make out but a glint from his glasses clued Shinji in.

"Father, father, is that you? Where am I? What is this place?"

For a while, the figure stood still and said nothing. Then, it spoke.

"I tried, I tried, why do you hate me so? Why do wish death upon me? Is it because you believe I failed you?"

"I don't understand, Father," Shinji replied, now frantic, "I don't hate you! What's going on?"

The figure either didn't hear his cries or simply ignored them.

"Was it not a good idea? I believe what I was doing was for the best? Is that so wrong?"

Before Shinji could reply, he awoke covered in sweat. Looking over at the clock and seeing it wasn't even 5 yet, he sighed and shivered.

"Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream."

Even though it was just a dream, sleep did not come for the Third Child and he readied himself for the day ahead.

-End.-

There we go, getting into the sci-fi a little. I'll get to the Tenth Angel's attack in the next couple of chapters, I promise. And if Kyuuchi comes off as a Mary-Sue, I apologize. It's just that it's still the beginning of the story and Kyuuchi's character will be fleshed out more. As for the dreams, I'll leave that up to your interpretations. This story was not pre-read.

Next chapter: Synch tests, Shinji's first date, and Kyuuchi meets Misato!


	3. First Dates

Author Notes:

Here we go, people. The third chapter of Singularity. The first date for our hero Shinji. Sorry for the delay, I was sidetracked. Now, on to the show!

+ Singularity +

Deep within Tokyo-3, NERV stood alone against the onslaught the angels. With a never-give-up attitude, they continue fighting no matter the odds. The world's fate couldn't be in better hands. The employees at NERV took their job seriously and did it without complaint. Most of them, anyway.

Inside NERV's Geofront, there stood mankind's true hope, the Evangelions. The three biomechanical beasts loomed over various technicians. Inside the Evas, the three pilots attempt to concentrate as the MAGI that were essentially the brain of NERV computed their scores.

"Shinji's scores are closing in on Asuka's, Misato," said NERV's number one scientist Ritsuko Akagi. With bleach-blonde hair and a teardrop mole, she didn't exactly fit the mold of a scientist. However, she was one of the most important people in the organization itself.

"Really? That's good, for Shinji. For Asuka, you know how seriously she takes Eva. You think we should tell them?"

Even as Misato asked the question, Ritsuko was already describing the scores to the pilots. Misato sweatdropped and issued a small prayer.

"Shinji, I've got good news. At this rate, your synch rate will catch up the Asuka's in the next couple of weeks."

Misato's prediction was correct, sadly.

"Ritsuko! Can't you at least warn me bef-," Misato was interrupted as Asuka's rant started. "Now look what you've done."

"She'll get over it, hopefully."

Asuka was in no mood to get over it at the time. "That idiot's scores shouldn't be anywhere near mine, your computers must be broken."

Ritsuko sighed and rubbed her temple. "Asuka, rest assured, the scores are accurate."

"That can't be, I mean. He's just a per-." Now it was Asuka's turn to be interrupted.

"Is the test almost over? We've already been cooped up in our Evas for the past hour now."

Of course, there was only one person at NERV who actively voiced their complaints, no matter the audience. Shinji Ikari was not usually that person, but he had things to do and people to see.

"Shinji, impatient?" Misato was dumbfounded. "I would have expected this type of behavior from Asuka, not you."

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, Misato. It's just Kyuuchi and I are going off to the mall again today," Shinji Ikari apologized. The reason he was looking forward to it so much was that Kyuuchi had virtually guaranteed him a date this time. He didn't for the first time in his life want to simply be alone.

Misato looked at Shinji and saw his anxious face. 'Well, it's probably good for him to go out with friends once in a while,' Misato thought.

"Ritsu, cut the kids a break and end the test a little early today? For me, please?"

Ritsuko narrowed her eyes and looked at the synch test scores.

"Fine then," Ritsuko sighed, rubbing her temples once again. 'Beginning of a migraine, I can feel it, why me?' Ritsuko thought.

"Pilots, the test is over. You may go now."

In the locker room, Shinji hurried to clothe himself and he looked at the clock. He was late!

'Crap, crap, crap,' Shinji thought, 'What if he gets mad at me for being late?'

As he stumbled outside the locker room with his pants half-off, he crashed into a mass of flesh and promptly fell backwards. Looking up at who he had ran into, his eyes widened.

"Watch where you're going, Third Child! Baka hentai, you could have injured me. And next time you interrupt me, you'll pay for it."

"Sorry, no time, later, bye."

"Hey, come back here, I'm not finished!"

+ Singularity +

Shinji fell gasping into his seat, not wanting to see the smug smile on Kyuuchi's face.

"Ah...So you made it after all, eh? I have to admit, I was getting a little worried."

"Synch…tests."

Kyuuchi simply nodded that he knew about Shinji's extracurricular activities. As he looked around the mall, his mood seemed to lessen; a small frown graced his features.

"Kyuuchi, what's wrong," inquired Shinji.

Turning to look at Shinji, he smiled with no small amount of trying. "Well, it's just that I think I pissed off another girl and she might be getting one of friend's boyfriends or whatever after me. Just the way the ball bounces, I guess."

"You're so optimistic, Kyuuchi. It's cool." To Shinji, Kyuuchi was everything he wanted to be, except perhaps without the excessive problems with women. "I wish I could be like you."

"Well, here's your chance," Kyuuchi motioned to an approaching young girl. She was their age, seemingly an average girl. She had brown eyes and brown hair with an average figure. "I figure for you, it's best to start slow. I don't think you're quite ready to tackle the firecrackers. Now go, young grasshopper, say hello."

Shinji looked back at Kyuuchi, then back to girl and began to feel the oncoming of fright. Trying to fight it, he took a large gulp and summoned up his courage in one fell swoop. As he walked towards the girl, he practiced his lines.

'Hello, my name's Shinji Ikari, and I was wondering, would you like to do something together?"

It sounded good, but the hard part for Shinji was the mind-to-mouth process. Hopefully he wouldn't trip over his own words. As he got closer, he took one last breath and swung for the fences.

"Hey, er, I'm…uh, Shinji Ikari and I was, uhm, wondering if you'd like do something together?" Shinji said, and he nearly patted himself on the back. Finally, complete sentences.

The girl looked surprised out of her mind for a brief instance before her face lit up in recognition.

"Oh my god! You're _the _Shinji Ikari! Pilot of Evangelion Unit-01?"

"Uhm, yeah?"

"Of course, I'd love to go on a date with you."

Shinji was simply bewildered; he never imagined it would be this easy. Maybe being an Evangelion pilot did have its advantages. Of course now, he had to come up with a simple but fun date. He tried to remember Kyuuchi's advice.

'For a first date, simply go out to lunch together. A movie, with someone like you, would be two hours of quiet, not fun. Get to know her first and see if it works. By the way, if you want a condom…"

Shinji ignored that last part and focused in on the food part.

"How about we go out to eat at a real restaurant? Tonight? Maybe around 8 or so?"

The girl looked as if she would have said yes if he said the date would be in a hot tub.

"That's good, let me give you my number and my address. Oh, and by the way, my name's Sakura."

As she continued, Shinji filed it down to his memory. He wouldn't forget his first date's number he knew that for sure.

+ Singularity +

Back at the table, Kyuuchi smiled. He was proud of his new friend. Someone with those many problems need support. Who better to give it to him?

'So it begins…Maybe I should give him some advice, just to be sure everything goes well…"

All of a sudden, Shinji jumped back into the seat, surprising Kyuuchi in his introspection. Shinji had the largest smile he had ever seen him with.

"Wow, Shinji, so let me guess, she said yes?"

"Yep, she did alright," Shinji's excitement couldn't be contained, "My first date, I hope I don't screw…up…" Shinji's face began cloudy as he remembered he had never actually been on a date and thus had absolutely no idea how to handle this situation.

"Kyuuchi, I need your help again, I don't know what to do!" Shinji's voice began to rise as his panic increased.

"Woah, chill pill, my man. I'm still here. I'll help. Let's go to your house and I'll work with you."

Shinji blanched, 'He wants to go my house? Is he insane?' Meanwhile, Kyuuchi was thinking something a little different, along the lines of spending quality time with Shinji's redheaded roommate.

"Are you sure, Kyuuchi? Asuka and Misato will be there."

Kyuuchi just slowly smirked. "Shinji, I'm looking forward to that very same thing."

+ Singularity +

Asuka stewed angrily as she watched the television, not paying attention to what was happening on the screen.

'First, he tries to close in on my synch rate. Then, he interrupts me. And then, he leaves me to go to mall with that pervert. How dare he?'

Asuka's fine-tuned hearing heard the creaking of a door opening and she was on her feet in an instant. It never occurred to her that Kyuuchi is an impatient man and opened the door instead of Shinji.

"Where do you get off leaving me here to eat Misato's terrible cooking?"

Kyuuchi's eyebrow raised and just went with it. "Well, well, I'm sorry, honey. Let me give you a make-up kiss and then I'll whip something up for you."

Asuka clenched her fists in anger and Kyuuchi's cheek was red in an instant. Seeing Shinji cowering behind, she redirected her attack.

"Third Child, where the hell were you?"

Kyuuchi took a step back as the two began their argument. Now he knew why that 'newlyweds' rumor started. Looking around the apartment, he tried to gauge Shinji's home life.

'Let's see here, he's got his own room,' Kyuuchi licked his lips in distaste as he saw the sparseness of Shinji's room. It was nearly empty. 'Not one for style, is he?'

As he wandered into the kitchen, he peered curiously into the refrigerator. 'Lots of beer here, strange. I didn't peg him as an alcoholic.' With that, came more screaming from Asuka. 'Well, maybe it's good for him to drown his sorrows."

As he continued to look at the massive amounts of beer in the fridge, he felt a poking sensation on his left leg. Standing up straight and looking down, he caught eyes with a penguin. 'A penguin? Why am I not surprised?'

The penguin seem more interested in the fridge then his new guest. Kyuuchi was simply ignored as the bird picked out a can and took a large swig.

"Oh, I see you've met Pen-Pen."

'That's not Shinji or Asuka,' Kyuuchi thought, 'then who is it…' As he turned, thinking no longer was very high on his priority list. There stood Shinji's guardian, and while he had seen her on occasion, never up close like this.

Shaking off his jitters, he straightened his shirt and cleared his throat.

"You must be Miss Katsuragi. I've heard about you from Shinji. He doesn't do you justice," Kyuuchi said with his best smile. As he approached her, his eyes raked her figure and if possible, his smile grew. "Nope, no justice at all."

"Well, aren't you a little charmer."

Misato had heard of Shinji's classmate's behavior from Asuka but contributed most of it to exaggeration. She had done the same thing to Shinji and his other friends. Yet, this time, it seemed that she hit the nail on the head.

'Oh great, this boy's going to be friends with Shinji. He's just like Kaji.'

Before Kyuuchi could offer his best pick-up line (He felt she deserved the best he could offer), Shinji walked into the kitchen and with a large red-imprint on his cheek.

"Sorry about that, Kyuuchi. Come on now into my room. I'm going to need your help with this date."

"Okay, grasshopper."

Misato blinked as what had just transpired sunk in. What had Shinji said? Before she had a chance to question her young ward, they were already in Shinji's room. Turning to Asuka, he mouthed 'Date?' to the redhead who now had a forlorn expression on her face.

Asuka simply nodded. "I know."

+ Singularity +

"Ok, let's run through this one more time, Shinji." Kyuuchi sighed as he fell backwards onto his back and gazed into the ceiling. "What to do at the end of your date."

Shinji paced around the room, worry etched on his features. He only had a couple more minutes to prepare and he was afraid he was going to blow it. All in all, he was a nervous wreck.

"Shinji," Kyuuchi tried to get his attention but Shinji continued to pace. He was making him worry, something he rarely, if ever, did. "Shinji!"

Kyuuchi's exclamation got his attention as he nearly jumped out of his shoes. He was teetering on the edge.

Shinji took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, Kyuuchi. It's just that this is the first time I've ever done something like this before. I'm worried I might mess it up."

"I understand, Shinji. But, worrying will just make you mess up more. You gotta act calm, cool, and collected. If you do that, I'm sure you'll have a good time."

Kyuuchi's sincere advice managed to calm him down enough to quit pacing the floor and concentrate on Kyuuchi's question.

"Uhm, at the end of the d-date I'll say 'I had fun, Sakura, I hope we can get together again some day. Until then, let's have a little fun.' After I say that, I," Shinji blushed, "kiss her."

Kyuuchi clapped his hands and jumped to his feet. Looking down at his watch, his eyes widened.

"Damn, it's 7:45, Shinji. Better get going. You want to be late, but not too late."

Shinji's eyes widened as well as he remembered the date began around 8:00. He had to walk to her house, too. As Shinji began to fret about the time, his jitters came back.

"Shinji, you're doing it again. Calm down."

Shinji nodded and then turned to Kyuuchi, "How about you, what are you going to do?"

Kyuuchi smirked as he thought to himself. 'Two beautiful girls in this house, all alone with him? Paradise.'

"I think I'll stay here for a while."

Shinji narrowed his eyes at his new friend. It didn't take a genius to figure out why Kyuuchi wanted to stay here. He only hoped his friend would be alive after spending time with his volatile roommates.

As Shinji walked outside his room, he turned back and said cryptically, "It's your funeral."

Kyuuchi's smile, it seemed, grew only wider.

+ Singularity +

Shinji took one last gulp as he knocked on the door of his date's home. It was a modest house, the picture of normalcy. Kyuuchi had been right when he said it was best to start slow. As the door opened, he expected a stern and angry-looking father who would lecture on him on how to stay away from his daughter. What he got, however, was completely the opposite.

The person who opened door was a plumb, fifty-something man who seemed the epitome of jolly. With rosy cheeks and a button nose, he looked like he couldn't hurt a fly.

"Oh, good, you're here. We were starting to get worried." He looked Shinji up and down, as if measuring him. "The famous Shinji Ikari, eh? I'd figured you be taller, though. Anyway, I'm so glad you asked my little Sakura out! She doesn't get out much and when I heard she was dating someone famous I couldn't have been more proud."

At this, he leaned in closer to Shinji and whispered quietly, "By the way, feel free to do whatever you please."

Shinji, simply put, was blown away by the behavior of this man. He had expected one thing and got the exact opposite. Such was the luck of Shinji Ikari.

"Uhm, ok, sir."

With that, he was ushered into the house. There, standing in the hallway was his date. Dressed in a cute blue dress and staring him as if he was some sort of Messiah. Trying to recall what Kyuuchi had said was a good icebreaker, he walked up to her. Suddenly, Kyuuchi's voice rang through his head.

'Compliment her on her looks, but don't go overboard with them. Tease her a little too.'

Shinji looked at Sakura and said, "You look good, Sakura. I'm impressed. This get-up just for little old me?"

Sakura blushed (exactly as Kyuuchi said she was, "Girls like that always blush," he had said.") and looked down as she tried to hide her embarrassment. Shinji simply smiled, 'This is easy,' Shinji thought.

"Well, Sakura, time to take off, let's go," Shinji said, as he put out his arm so she could walk with him. Turning back to her father, he gave him a thumbs-up as they waved good-bye.

As they exited the house and walked down the steps, her demeanor drastically changed. Her face lit up and she began talking at an incessant rate.

"Oh, thank god, sorry about my dad, Shinji. He gets a little excited about some things. So, where are we going? Anywhere's fine for me, but maybe that's because you're paying. Oh, Shinji, I'm joking. I still can't believe I'm going out with an Eva pilot! Look at me, I can't be quiet."

Shinji was silent during all this, trying to figure out what sort of drugs his new date was on. A thought occurred to him, was she simply going out with him because he was an Eva pilot?' This saddened him, was she simply using him to increase her own popularity with her friends? Before he could start feeling more sorry for himself, Kyuuchi's voice cut into his introspection.

"Shinji, chin up, my man. If she's dating you just because you're an Eva pilot it makes it easier for you. Remember, she's just practice.'

Shinji was a first put off by such thinking. Treating women like objects was something he normally did not condone. But, hadn't he been treated like an object his life? Discarded by his father and then picked back up again like a piece of trash that had missed the litter box? It was his turn, his turn to be in control.

Shinji put on his biggest smile as he turned towards the girl and proceeded to calm her down and tell her the night's plans.

+ Singularity +

Back at the apartment, Asuka Langely Sorhyu was in no mood to be messed with. An expression that defied definition adorned her face as she flipped through various TV channels. She wanted to be distracted from what happened earlier today.

'How does that wimp manage to get a date? It doesn't make sense.'

Her internal monologue was interrupted as she felt somebody else crash onto the sofa. Assuming it was Misato, she turned to voice a complaint. As she turned, she realized Misato's sitting awfully close to her and…is that an arm around her shoulders?

"Well, looky here, Asuka's alone and missing Shinji. Don't worry, I'm here for you."

Asuka quickly retaliated and slapped him, "God, you pervert. Don't ever touch me."

"Ok, ok, no need to tell me twice," Kyuuchi said, rubbing his now red cheek. "But I'm still going to watch some TV."

Asuka sighed and began walking out of the room, muttering, "Why are you even here?"

Before Asuka could get totally out of earshot, Kyuuchi spoke up. "You want to know about Shinji's date?" As he said this, he rolled his head and peered into Asuka's eyes, a small smile growing on his face.

"Why would I care about that idiot? He can do what he wants."

"I don't know your reason, I just know that you do."

"Listen here, it's because of you Shinji isn't here to keep me company. Your fault he isn't here to apologize to me. It's your fault he's not beside me," Asuka's voice began to rise as she said this and at the same time, she walked up to Kyuuchi and began poking him in the chest.

Kyuuchi sighed, "Asuka, you call him a wimp everyday. I figured you'd be glad he's changing. All those qualities you don't like about him are about to disappear. He'll be better for you."

Asuka gritted her teeth in frustration, "Where do you get off? Thinking you know so much about us? I barely even know you, Shinji barely even knows you! How do I know you don't have some sort of hidden agenda?"

Kyuuchi stood up from the couch and acted like he was dusting himself off. Sighing, he looked into Asuka's eyes and slowly smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" Asuka tried to sound commanding but there was underlying worry in her voice. She didn't know where Misato was and she had no idea what Kyuuchi could do.

"Asuka, you don't have to worry. I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just want to make things better. Just the kind of person I am, I suppose."

And with that, he walked out the apartment, giving Asuka one-last wink as he closed the door.

+ Singularity +

Shinji rested on his elbow as his date droned on about various things and with all his might he attempted to seem interested. At the beginning, it was easy. Now, not so much.

'Kyuuchi warned me about girls that never stopped talking. He never told me what to do about it, though...'

"So, Shinji, what's up? You look sick."

Sakura's concerned voice cut through his thinking and he turned to his date. She looked concerned however Shinji could bet she was miffed he had zoned out while she talked. Shinji had to think of something to cover his tracks and quickly.

"…I, uhm, well you see," Shinji silently prayed as her expression continued to darken but suddenly he was struck by inspiration so hard it stung.

"Well, I was just thinking of this place we can go. It offers a wonderful view of the city. Want to?"

Her expression quickly changed as a smile broke out. It was then Shinji first noticed that was she was indeed quite pretty. Shinji smiled slowly back at her as for the first time in a while, he was flooded with pride.

"Sure, Shinji, that sounds great!"

"Well, okay then, let me foot the bill and we'll be off."

+ Singularity +

"You were right, Shinji. It is beautiful," Sakura said as he viewed the glowing lights of the metropolis. "It's sad that those angels want to destroy it. Lucky for us, you're here."

Shinji blushed as she praised him, "Well, uh, there are other pilots…"

"I bet neither of them are as cute as you are."

Again, Shinji blushed and struggled not to look down. 'Confidence, man, she's totally into you, man,' thought Shinji.

"You might just be right, Sakura."

He smiled down at Sakura but suddenly remembered he had to bring her home eventually. Looking down at his clock, he noticed it was nearly 10 o' clock.

"Wow, look at the time, two hours sure did fly by," Shinji remarked as he looked back up at Sakura. "Time to get going, don't you think?"

There was an expression on Sakura's face he couldn't quite explain. Was she mad at him for wanting the date to be over? 'Did I do something wrong,' Shinji thought as she continued to stare at him. However, before he could think about it anymore, she literally jumped into him and kissed him. She nearly knocked him off her feet as she did so. At first, Shinji's eyes were wide with fear as he delved deep into unknown territory. Slowly, however, Shinji began to reciprocate the kiss.

After a few seconds, Sakura backed off and looked into Shinji's eyes. "Okay, you can take me home now." And with that, she grabbed his hand and led him back to the city.

Shinji could only nod as he was into a state that was sometimes known as shock.

'Thank you, Kyuuchi! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

End.

There we go, the third chapter officially finished. Shinji's got his first kiss and now is well on his way to becoming a regular Casanova. Or not, perhaps? Is there a dark side to Kyuuchi and what he's teaching Shinji? What are Kyuuchi's real motives? Is Gendo ever going to be in this story?

Next Chapter: The Tenth Angel's attack, Shinji's second conquest and Kyuuchi gets into a bit of trouble! See it all in the next installment of Singularity, Flying High!


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